IN-PERSON: Prague – Section B

Abstract

Our homes are heritage. Domestic space is where we shape and perform traditions; keep memories; experience individual, collective, and historic ways of life. Fundamental to domestic living is the pursuit of warmth. How we heat our homes or, feel the cold, is intimately connected to our social routines, to generational practices of fuel gathering and burning, and to the geopolitical landscape of the locale. Home heating is also a major source of greenhouse gases. Reducing the carbon footprint of home heating systems is, therefore, a priority in response to the climate emergency. Home heating systems are changing because change is needed, and the social and cultural implications of these transitions are profound. This collaborative paper will explore the question of social, cultural, and environmental preservation in the context of climate change through the work of the JUSTHEAT project. JUSTHEAT is a pan-European interdisciplinary research project investigating the human impact of past home heating transitions in the UK, Sweden, Romania, and Finland. This paper will illuminate the project’s philosophy and focus on oral histories, artistic methods, and visual archive curation to engage local and international publics in conversations on home heating and to inform energy policy. The paper will interrogate how memory and community heritage can be preserved while advocating, and influencing, crucial change. Through the reflections of an historian, an artist, and an energy policy expert, this paper will highlight conflicts and resolutions in contemporary discussions on history, culture, and our global home.